I was absolutely amazed by the stunning beauty of the surroundings within this music video; it not only completely embraced the traditional chinese atmosphere, but by also adding mechanical elements which are weaved constantly throughout the scenery, they are also a reminder of the reality of mechanisation and modernity which we face in the 21st century. But this truly reflects on Sodagreen's concept and the sound that they wanted for this album too; this song <Stories>(故事) although using traditional chinese instruments to create a distinctively traditional sound, they've added their own little twist to the arrangement and also use the lyrics to make it not just some forgettable song mimicking Chinese tradition in order to fake some pride in their heritage, but instead, created a song which is distinctively theirs, distinctively Sodagreen; a fusion of classical chinese heritage and modern ideals. Truly an enchantment for both the ears and the eyes.

Can you believe this guy? This is an absolute must-share for me! Echo's put together a completely acapella cover of Mayday's hit single <伤心的人别听慢歌>(Sad people should not listen to slow songs). While that's all well and good, Echo actually does all of the sounds in this multi-layered arrangement all by himself and imitates actual percussion instruments with his voice! Completely blew me away with the creativity and awesomeness of this cover. Astounded by his talent, and you should too! He pulls it off in a quirky and catchy manner which makes it all the more impressive. Check it out!

I'm sure that the most bright of you will have noticed by now that some changes have been made to the website, and that is most certainly correct! The website now has a completely new interface which hopefully makes it easier for all of you accessing it to find what you need, at your convenience! This overhaul, of course, could not have been done by myself. It was initiated by the amazing, sweet, wonderful technology genius Autumn Jade, who suggested some changes that could have been made to my website to make it easier to navigate, offering her help in doing so. I'm not sure if she really knew what she was getting into (man, even I didn't know how much stuff was on this website), but these past few weeks I've pretty much let her take over the reigns and run the show, in terms of wherever formatting, tagging, or basically anything not to do with the actual content of the website is involved.

So now there are a few main sections: -Of course, the Nuggets of News blog (now renamed News Nuggets), Lyrical Liltings blog and the Taipei Travels: 139 days blogs can still be accessed via the header.-Under the 'Home' tab will be the home page, as well as the 'About' page-Under 'Special' will be my tips on how to find information about your favourite artist (Artist Info Tips), Links, Album Concepts and my Artist Opinions blog series.-Under 'People', you can now navigate the website by searching for your favourite artists, which are divvied up into Male, Female and Group artists, as well as a section for some Music Production figures (lyricists, composers, producers).-Albums are now clearly separated by year, but if you're looking for a specific album, I recommend searching via the Artists tab.

That's basically an overview of all the changes that have been made to the website, have a look around, explore, and hope it really does make things easier! A million and one thanks to Autumn Jade again, I couldn't possibly have done this without her help, and it couldn't have come at a better time!

I don't know if it's just me, or you guys are feeling it too, these days there seems to be more and more bad news coming our way. I don't know if its because I've started to become more aware of what's happening around me, but especially the three main incidents which have happened in close succession of each other, namely the Malaysia Airlines crash, TransAsia crash and the Air Algerie crash that have all happened this week, which have only added to the fears that were caused by the MH370 Disappearance a few months back. Bad news is coming my way from every angle, and whenever I think 'Why is this all happening?' I immediately go to this song. David Tao wrote it for the 9/11 terrorist attacks as he saw it unfolding before his very eyes on the television screen in front of him, and he asked the same questions that you and I are asking today.

I don't know what there is that I can do to help the victims of these terrible incidents, but I do know that songs such as <Dear God> really do have the potential to make an impact on the world. It is David's way of expressing his criticisms on society, and asking a question that unites us all: Why is this happening? But isn't that what music is all about in the first place? Uniting people and helping us to find common ground? This blog and this website isn't just about the latest news in Chinese music. To me, it's about spreading the message to others about music appreciation on a global perspective, sharing music in ways where it may be more greatly appreciated, and uniting people all over the globe by tapping into their passions. Music unites and strengthens, and that is the key to all of this. The crumbling foundations of trust can only be restored by a collective sense of hope that banishes fear and calms hysteria. David says in the lyrics that "love seems to have been forgotten"; to get it back, everyone needs to play their part.

A friend introduced me to this artist, and although I’ve heard that she’s an up-and-coming new artist, I hadn’t yet gotten around to listening to her music. Her voice is different and takes a little getting used to, but just like fine wine, it gets better with every listen. She has a vocal technique similar to that of A-Fu and Stefanie Sun, a warm baritone sound like that of Jing Chang, but yet a high, sweet and resonant falsetto like that of labelmate Freya Lin. The Korean –Taiwanese presents her eclectic and interesting sound in a way that keeps listeners always coming back for more. You’ve probably heard many of her songs as Taiwanese Drama theme songs such as <住在一起>(Live together) for Fabulous 30, as well as singing theme songs for other dramas such as 我的自由年代, so be sure to keep an eye out for her as she’s already released her debut album <Girls>!